There has been a lot of buzz around cicadas recently—you’ve probably heard about Brood X by now (if not, read on). But do you know what a cicada actually is? Are they the same as locusts? Are they all just a kind of grasshopper? Telling cicadas and locusts apart can be a bit complicated, especially since the words are sometimes used interchangeably and the particularly …
June is a great month. School’s out. The days are long. The weather’s warm. Perhaps the Anglo-Saxons—who spoke that linguistic ancestor of English known as Old English—were onto something when they collectively called June and July Liða. That’s pronounced like [ lee–thuh ], with the character ð having the voiced th-, like this. Liða itself may mean “calm” or “mild.” On its own, June was sometimes also referred to as Ærra-Liða, which is like …
While there are auto races held throughout the year, there are few better times to watch an event than summer. Case in point: races like the Indy 500, which is at the end of May. Race fans are well familiar with the major events, of course, but even those who haven’t watched a full race in their life have almost certainly used some auto racing …
by Kimberly C. Ellis, Ph.D. The year 2021 marks the 100th anniversary of the Oklahoma race massacre known as the Tulsa Massacre, which resulted in the death of more than 300 Black Americans and the total destruction of 40 blocks of a Black residential neighborhood and business district called Greenwood and nicknamed Black Wall Street. And while news spread across the US about this tragedy at …
You’re trying as hard as you can. Are you doing your utmost or your upmost? Confusion between these two words probably comes from people hearing utmost (which is the correct choice in this case, btw) as upmost (which is otherwise a pretty uncommon word). This may be because up seems like it should fit situations involving the highest effort. And, in fact, there are some …
by Laura Vismara Content warning: This article deals with the sensitive topic of suicide. If you (or someone you know) need support, call the toll-free, 24/7 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. You can also text HOME to 741741 for free, which offers 24/7 support from the Crisis Text Line. This article also covers a range of difficult topics on mental health, including eating disorders …
As May nears its final weeks, Gemini season rolls in. Lucky people born between May 21–June 20 can call themselves Geminis. It’s the sign after Taurus and before Cancer in the Zodiac calendar. An air sign ruled by Mercury, Gemini is the third sign of the Zodiac. Represented by twins, Geminis tend to have a dual nature. They can be unpredictable, and their personalities are …
Cite, site, and sight are classic homophones: they sound the same, but differ in meaning (and spelling). Cite is most commonly used as a verb in the context of facts, sources, and academic papers. Site is most commonly used as a noun in the context of locations and places. And sight is used in the context of seeing and things that are seen. Sounds straightforward, …
Every May in the United States, Americans observe Older Americans Month, a month-long observance devoted to celebrating older Americans and their contributions and raising awareness about issues related to age and aging. This makes May an important time during which to consider language used to talk about older people and ageism—which we should be doing every month of the year, too! This topic matters because …
by Min Straussman In 1585, a mining expert named Joachim Gans landed on Roanoke Island in the New World. He is considered the first Jewish person to visit the Americas. Almost 70 years later, in 1654, the first Jewish community was founded in what was then known as New Amsterdam, and what we today call New York City. They came, like so many other early …
Let’s be honest: desert vs. dessert is a spelling issue, not a definition issue. It’s easy to tell the difference between the Sahara and a chocolate cake (even a dry chocolate cake). But when should you use one S and when should you use two? That extra S could be the difference between mounds of sand and mounds of ice cream—and that’s an important difference! …
May may seem like a little simple name, but its origin is actually fairly complex and interesting. Sit back and read up on this little word’s … big history. What does May mean? The fifth month of the Gregorian calendar, May, is defined as “the fifth month of the year, containing 31 days.” Got it. But where did this name come from? The name for …